GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Talk about a tale of two halves.
After building a double-digit lead, the Albion College men's basketball team fell to Davenport University, 72-69. The Britons controlled the game in the first half before the host Panthers chipped away to take the lead in the second half.
Jonathan Armstead-Wilkerson dropped a career-high 19 points before fouling out. Bolstered by a 4 for 8 mark from three,
MJ Barnes added 15 points.
Cortez Garland added 14 points.
Senior
Justin McAbee had a solid night, registering 10 points, five boards, four assists and a block.
Midway through the first half, back to back trey from Barnes and
Chanse Crittendon gave Albion a seven point advantage. The Britons continued their run with three straight buckets from Garland, giving the visitors a 26-13 advantage. Capitalizing off Davenport turnovers, the Brits took a 39-23 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Davenport came out with all of the momentum. An early run cut the Albion lead to single digits before the Panthers knotted the game at 60 with 6:39 to play. A back and forth battle would continue for the remainder of the contest.
Davenport buried a three to take a two point lead, but the Brits immediately had an answer. McAbee found Garland for three, as Albion led, 69-68, with 2:49 on the clock.
With 2:27 remaining, Davenport sank a pair of free throws, ultimately giving them the lead. The visitors were held scoreless for nearly the final three minutes of the contest.
Down by two, the Brits had an opportunity to tie or take the lead. Garland's elbow jumper at the buzzer hit back iron and bounced out, sending the Panthers home with the win.
The Britons shot an efficient 52 percent from the floor.
Albion was just 6 of 14 from the free throw line, compared to Davenport's 21 of 26 mark.
After the loss to the Division II opponent, Albion now sits at 2-5 overall.
Albion will be idle for two weeks for finals before returning to action on Dec. 20. The Britons will play Franklin College at Wittenberg University for a 4:30 p.m. tip off.
